new adventure ahead!

Salam Ramadhan to all and Eid Mubarak! segala puji bagi Allah swt yg memberi peluang untuk kita meneruskan kehidupan di dalam bulan yang mulia ini...

Wah lagi beberapa hari lagi kita akan berhari raya, pasti ramai yang telah membuat persiapan untuk menyambut lebaran ini, kan... for me, the preparation is simple. the reason is that i have another important thing to do at the same time. Yes, dlm bulan ramadhan ini, di kala orang lain sibuk dengan persiapan raya, saya sibuk dengan urusan cuti belajar (well, tak de lah sesibuk mana if compared to mereka yang nak cuti belajar ke luar negara), tapi still rasa terkejar-kejar ke sana ke mari.

Urusan borang2 dan surat dari KPT diberi masa 14 hari. Surat dan borang2 dari uthm pula sampai pada hari ke 7 selepas dapat dokumen dari KPT. Maka bermulalah episod lawatan ke PKU, pejabat pos, rumah pakcik (sebagai penjamin), LHDN (untuk urusan mati setem), ulang-alik pejabat pendaftar. Tadi baru saja pergi ke library, tp malangnya tak dibenarkan masuk kerana ada sesi rakaman Dato' NC untuk ucapan raya, so nampaknya kena tunda untuk dapatkan signature pegawai di library. PTM, akan dilawati lepas naik cuti raya sbb skrg ni banyak files dlm laptop yg perlu di transfer untuk kosongkan laptop ni sebelum dipulangkan kepada PTM. Mujurlah saya akan belajar di UTM Skudai, jadi tak ada masalah nak datang semula ke sini. Kalau lah saya belajar kat oversea, mau jenuh lah saya kena settlekan semua sebelum fly. Barang2 dalam ofis masih belum kemas sepenuhnya lagi. Baru 1 ruang dlm bookshelves yang dah clear. ada banyak kotak2 lagi. assignments students lagi. files lagi. nasib baiklah saya diberi masa sebulan untuk uruskan hal ni. tapi sekarang ada lagi 2 minggu saja lagi untuk serahkan kunci ofis.

Keadaan di rumah, jangan cerita lah. segala2nya serba simple. tiada penambahan perabot or langsir baru, tapi yang pasti akan ada tambahan rak buku dan juga komputer baru (ye lah, nak jadi student, kan?). our (my hubby & i) plan is, ruang tamu kedua akan dijadikan study room for all of us. sebelum ini, tetamu dirai samada di ruang utama or ruang tamu kedua, but this time, mereka akan dirai di ruang utama sahaja, sbb bakal 'study room' tu dah tak berapa sesuai utk jadi 'santapan mata' tetamu ;).

The question is: adakah saya betul2 bersedia untuk jadi student semula?

ruang tamu ke dua rumah saya

saya juga berangan untuk buat satu blog khas untuk coretan perjalanan pengajian saya... tapi tak tahu lah samada sempat atau tidak saya lakukan perkara tersebut... andai ia ada, saya akan menulis di sana tak lama lagi....

mixed feelings

Alhamdulillah, I have received the offer letter to pursue study at UTM via email on Wednesday, 6th July. The registration is on the 6th September and lectures begin on the 12th. But, (because of my own doings) I am not sure if I could secure the scholarship by September. Fingers-crossed, ultimately, InsyaAllah, i pray that Allah will have some mercy on me about this matter...
So, this particular email has made my nervous system works extra hard these past 2 days - a mixed feeling of excitement, enthusiasm, apprehensive, uneasy, blank, sleep-deprivation - only to mention some.
 

Sambung belajar ini adalah satu tanggungjawab besar yang perlu diuruskan dengan baik, apatah lagi dengan menggunakan biasiswa negara, duit rakyat jelata, duit kita semua, so, saya mesti belajar bersungguh2 dan berjaya, dan memberi sumbangan sewajarnya kepada rakyat dan negara.

Friends asked who my supervisor is. I have 2.
'Wah, kak, dia sangat strict! Saya pernah "menangis air mata darah" bila dia jadi examiner saya', Aisyah responded. I gulped. 'Tapi dia sangat jaga kualiti research students di bawah dia', she continued.

'Kak, nanti saya nak pinjam dan baca thesis akak bila dah siap. Selalunya students yang belajar dengan supervisor ni, produced high quality research & paper', Hanim added.

I called the FP office to ask about courses I need to register, and she asked who my supervisor is.

'Wah, puan, beruntung puan dapat supervisors tersebut. 2 - 2 sangat strict tapi mereka sangat bagus. InsyaAllah, puan, ok.' She remarked.

Most friends, especially those who have had experience learning from these two lecturers gave similar comment. They are both strict but at the same time helpful. "Ya Allah... permudahkanlah urusanku dengan bakal supervisors ku ini..."... 


Andai ada yang membaca entri saya ini, doakan saya dalam meneroka satu perjalanan yang baru ini ya... Thanks a lot!

full of beans...

Ginny, my top floor neighbour in Bristol, always said this to Adlina - 'Look at you, you're full of beans!'. What does it mean, i asked her. and she said - someone who has a lot of energy and enthusiasm. and that's very true, indeed. (not only Adlina, but all the 3 - fathinah & akmal).
These photos were taken on Sunday, 3rd July. We arrived at Air Hitam (from JB) at around 3.45. Adlina went straight to her ballet class and was given extra 15 minutes lesson (the courtesy of the teacher, because we were late, the class began at 3). After ballet, we went to Jentayu restaurant for a cuppa & yong taufu. When everyone was full, they requested a playground, so we stopped at the RnR Dato' Sukiman.

adlina - tak sesuai main jongkang jongkit dgn baju ballet!

.

because there are only 2 swings, adlina had to resort to sthg like this.

nasib baik mama nampak kat tempat landing tu ada 't**i kucing'!

from grace to ....? ganas kot

akmal takut2 at first

Alhamdulillah, they slept early that nite - around 8.30! they must've been so exhausted!

newborn niece

my baby sister, (sometimes i still feel that she's still a baby)... i still remember when i was 13 and she was 3, she would come with mom to visit me at hostel. she was cute then, and she's grown to a beautiful lady. just last thursday, the 30th June, she delivered her first baby, named Amirah Nabilah, and that's the latest addition to my big family. Amirah is the 8th grandchild of my parents. My own kids are very excited about the new baby. They cuddled, kissed, smooched, and put the baby on their laps, everything. Unfortunately, my camera battery was flat that i didnt manage to snap their photos ;(.

But luckily I did snap this cute 'little suzy' stitched to the blanket we gave Amirah...

unfinished - without back stitch and the baby is still in the womb ;). design taken from the best cross stitch collection mag

finished - the piece sewn on the blanket. (can you spot the error?)

We hope that Amirah will be happy cozily wrapped in this blanket.
Semoga Amirah menjadi anak solehah dunia akhirat....

The following photos are abducted from the daddy's fb album heheheh....

comel kannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn......

cuti belajar - a risk worth taking?

cuti belajar or study leave is really a hot issue in every meeting chaired by the Dean. he has numerous times reminded all of us to make preparation for that purpose by end of June, so that those who want to further study can start in September this year. i am one of them. i've been teaching for 10 years. time flies and many of my colleagues have embarked on the journey, and many have returned with success. plus, students nowadays are much more advanced and most are very good, that being a mediocre teacher is not sufficient to teach them. thus, i need to upgrade and equip myself with new and more knowledge so i can become an excellent educator.

in the faculty meeting last month, the Dean has specifically mentioned my name, saying that he hoped i wouldn't withdraw my intention to further study this year. he also asked my husband (he mentioned his name) to support my decision to go. that statement implied that my husband wasn't supportive or probably i wasn't serious in this matter. in fact, dean has the right to say that, after all, he's the boss. it's my procrastination that is the main problem. i gave more priority to classes, students' assignments, proofreadings, translations, that i put aside this study leave process. Dean also reminded all language teachers to not to be so obsessed with part-time job & claims that made us forget about pursuing studies. he is also right about that. everytime we send in the claim form, we need to get his signature of endorsement. and he knows.

from that meeting, i slowly picked up things where i left in february. i've sent the application to further for PhD, and now am waiting for the offer letter. I've also sent some forms to the dean. this morning, kak siti, his PA, joked, 'salawati ada masalah disiplin, prof tak sign tau'. ouchh! that joke early in the morning nearly made me fainted! but at the same time she handed me the paper, with Prof's approval - 'dibenarkan untuk cuti belajar'. but i have this weird feeling. it's not happiness. but nervousness. i've started to feel uneasy. there is another form that Prof has to evaluate my preparation to further study. i will have to wait for that, maybe end of this week i will know what Prof has to say about me. uneasy. seriously.

there are lots of things that i need to sort out. i must start driving. i must not totally depend on my husband to drive me around. kids must start to be independent. and the list goes on...

Ya Allah, permudahkan urusanku...

taken from: http://bashar-igop.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-never-too-late.html

Hari 'Jalinan Kasih'

Tadika IMAN & PUJI held 'Hari Jalinan Kasih' at the place on Saturday, 18th June 2011. It was actually an 'open day' where parents were invited to school and had discussions about their children's academic performance with teachers. Both Adlina & Fathinah were excited about this. The night before the open day, they kept on telling me what they did at school, like colouring, cut & paste, recited doas, etc etc...

We went to Fathinah's PUJI first. Teacher Ita entertained us. She showed Fathinah's file of work. I browsed through and found that she did OK. Teacher Ita said, Fathinah learns following her mood. When she's in good mood, she would be able to read Peter and Jane till 10 pages! But, when she is not really into learning, she would be the quietest person in class, and just stares blankly at the teacher. When that happens, teacher Ita would not force Fathinah, because she knows Fathinah will catch up fast soon. At the moment, Fathinah is at book 3a of Peter and Jane, and Buku 'U' Bacalah Sayang. (Alhamdulillah, at 3-year-old, she has recognised the phonetics and alphabets, both ABC and Iqra' 2). I pray that Fathinah will continously excel in her academic journey.

Fathinah, Akmal, Ayah & Busu Amin - at school sports day

Adlina's turn next. We met Teacher N. Her response when I asked how Adlina fair at school was 'Alhamdulillah, Puan, Zawani tak ada masalah langsung dengan pelajaran dia, senang diajar, mudah dapat apa yang cikgu ajar, pandai'. I was flattered. When she showed me Adlina's file, I felt like weeping... is this my little baby, who now can write, read, calculate, reasoning?'. Teacher N continued that Adlina shows strong determination and very competitive, in particular, with Sofea and Fatimah. (i know where she gets those two qualities from - her DAD, of course!). At this point, Adlina has read halfway through Book 5a of Peter and Jane, Buku 7 of Bacalah Anakku, memorised 13 ayat of Yaasiin precisely, Iqra' 2, knows how to do wudhu', memorise bacaan dalam solat and a lot more. I too pray that Adlina will be excellent in everything she does.

Adlina - always looks forward to school

Next year will be Akmal's turn to go to school. Akmal will be 3 next year, and I don't want his early years wasted. I pray Akmal will be an excellent boy too, InsyaAllah...

my family with mak & papa - syawal 2010

(i slowly learn how my mom has been worrying about my academic and exams and how she felt when i was successful in those and i am yet to learn how proud she was, seeing me at school stages receiving rewards, and witnessing my graduations... and i know as her prayer never fails to mention me, so does my prayer to her (and my dad too) and to my children)...

Aquaria, KLCC (cubaan utk letak gambar tidak berjaya lagi.. got to learn from Jimmy!!)

** this post was supposed to be published last year, but due to my not knowing what to with this advanced technology, it was pended till today **

Since our trip to Aquaria, Adlina has been talking into us (mom&dad) to visit that place again. Her reasons being : 'nak tengok butterfly fish, nemo, turtle, shark, ikan pari-pari, etc etc.. again and again...'. And also now she likes to watch the animal planet & natgeo wild channels, which previously she used to watch spongebob, tom & jerry, and garfield. that's a good change. (ye lah, asik tengok katun je, bukan bawa faedah pun, e.g. spongebob's spokesperson pun cakap 'watch more nautical nonsense in the next sbsqpnts bla bla...'


Fathinah, bila nampak ikan2 kecil & comel, dia ok. Bila nampak ikan2 besar mulalah dia jerit 'nak mummy, nak mummy!'. takutlah tu. nak ambik gambar pun takmau. bila dah sampai rumah & tengok semula gambar2 dlm camera, dia sebok tanye, 'mana gambar adek, takde pun'. haaa.. tau takpe dek oii..

Akmal, as always, the coolest boy. relax je in his stroller. tak berdecit, tak berdecut. observing everything in his peaceful manner. tp dia start bersuara bila Fathinah usik dia. Towards the end of the journey, Fathinah dah penat, dah mintak susu. Dia mula tarik Akmal dari stroller. Dia kata, 'Akmal, bagi adek pulak duduk sini, adek penat jalan'. Of course Akmal tak bagi. and Akmal pun menangis lah bila kena sakat dengan budak montel itu.

Bila dah keluar, masuk pulak ke souvenir shop. Adlina berkenan kat ikan buntal getah yg bila diketuk keluar lampu. sebiji, rm8.90. Fathinah pun nak juga. Akmal tak kisah, tengok je kerenah kakak2 dia. Tapi belikan juga la bola, sebiji rm9.90. Hmm.. harapkan mahal je, tp ikan Adlina tu, sebelah malam, telah kempis. tak sampai 6 jam beli, dah sapan.

Bila semua dah settled, we went to a friend's house. Faizal. Kami berkenalan di Bristol. Faizal now works as petronas senior engineer, kat klcc tu lah. He invited us for dinner. Rumah dia di Platinum View, Danau Kota. (fuh, grand betul nama tempat tu.). Apartment, guarded, kena slide masa nak masuk entrance, teringat masa pergi rumah anggsaz & kak alina di Charles Street, Glasgow. Sebijik la style mcm tu. My husband, kalau dah jumpa dengan Faizal (he's 10 years younger than my husband), amboi bersembang tak ingat dunia. dari satu topik ke satu topik. Semuanya tentang batu, minyak, surface science, material, testing, instrument, raw data, bla bla bla... (diorang ni takde life yg lebih menarik ke ek?). So, i was entertained by Amy, Faizal's wife. actually, Amy lebih pay attention to my kids. Biasa lah, diorang just married, no baby yet, so layan especially si Fathinah the montel lah... Sembang punye sembang, dah dekat pukul 10 baru nak bertolak balik Johor. Sampai Air Hitam dalam pukul 2 pagi mcm tu la...

What Accent are you?

The past 2 days, I facilitated a group of new students taking Interpersonal Skills course, which is a part of the skills enhancement programme. The 2-day-session was conducted in English. And the participants must also use the language for communication. (though some of them flouted the rule!).
There were 16 people in my group, they come from all over (Malaysia, of course). Most of them hold a degree and some possess a diploma in various disciplines. As a normal practice (I believe) in every event like this, the first activity must be the ice-breaking session.

(fast forward the story)

At the end of the ice-breaking, a student asked me a question which went something like this:
 'Madam, majority of people from Kelantan and Trengganu cannot speak English properly. They use their Kelantan slang. Is that ok?'
I answered that question with a question.'Do you mean their 'accent'?
Everybody rhymed : 'Yeeeeeessssssssss'.
I continued: 'Do you understand them when they speak English with Kelantan or Trengganu accent?
They answered: 'Noooooooooo'.
I felt like I was in a primary school class, with this kind of answer. Or probably that was influenced by my question itself. (???)
I asked them: 'What do you think my accent is?'
One said: 'Selangor'. I replied: 'I am Johorean'.
A girl said: 'Javanese!'
and that answer made me LOL!!!

To sum up, I really enjoy the programme, all group members were cooperative, creative, and most importantly, they have managed to speak much more than before, and that they are not afraid to use English to communicate their views. Above all, the team WON the TALLEST & STRONGEST TOWER competition, leaving the other 9 groups envious of that. Well Done!

am rm10k richer!

fuh, i wish! actually that money is not for me to spend leisurely. this morning, i checked the pigeon hole, and there it was. a letter from the uni RMC, informing that my application for short grant has been approved. Yeay!! I submitted the application April last year (2010), but due to some financial restriction, it was brought forward to this year. Alhamdulillah.... what else could i say. the research is funded for a year, 15 March 2011 - 14 March 2012.

now i need to fill in some forms and submit them to the Dean.

till then...

the other side of me

my mom is a fulltime housewife, and i admire her (of course, everyone should theirs, rite?). dulu masa kecik2, mak selalu bawak pegi masuk kelas mengait, sulam2an, masak2, mengaji, marhaban, dan macam2 lagi. baju kami adik beradik, memang lah tak pernah orang lain yang jahit kecuali mak yang jahit. even gunting rambut pun, mak yang buat. apatah lagi hal masak memasak ni, rasanya tak pernah makan kat luar. I know McD for the first time, masa matriks di shah alam, itupun roommate yg memang orang KL yang bawa masuk. other than that, my first lesson of muqaddam is also from my mom, and khatam al-quran also from her.

kan best kalau semua skills yang mak ada tu turun kat aku... tapi aku yakin memang ada, cuma tidak dicungkil saje bakatnya... what i know is, sometimes keinginan utk (for e.g.) menjahit tu ada, tapi tak tau nak start macamana, nak masak yang best2 tu ada, tp mcm tak confident, nak gunting rambut anak sendiri tp takut tak cantik lah pulak...

but, one thing for sure, i like doing cross stitch. memanglah benda ni dah sangat lama, i mean, teknologi lama. dulu2 mak memang encourage buat benda ni. the problem is me. susah sungguh nak siapkan satu2 benda. mak always said, 'bila dah mulakan satu pekerjaan, kena habiskan, jangan tinggal separuh jalan'. tu lah...

so di sini i try (word 'try' sbb tak tau lagi cara nak letak pic) letak some of the cross stitch yg selamat disiapkan...

the 1st cottage

the 2nd cottage of 6 in the village that I managed to complete

MC

Wah, sungguh lama tak menulis blog. Thats ok. Banyak keje, kan. With classes & materials to proofread, memanglah tak sempat utk leisure writing. Tapi hari ni, sempat pulak, kan. Hari ni, doktor bagi MC. actually sejak semalam lagi dah dapat MC. sebabnya, demam + batuk + selsema + sore throat + terus tak keluar suara. Dah keje guna suara, so bila suara takde, dapatlah cuti rehat. alhamdulillah, Allah masih bagi kekuatan utk jari2 ni menaip. so, eventhough MC, still datang juga ke ofis, tapi tak masuk ke kelas, hanya check email kot2 ada ape2 yg penting, and skim & scan assignments yg students baru submit tadi.

pagi tadi check email, memang ada yg sangat penting. dapat email dari PP utk isi borang2 yg perlu diaju ke KPT. i'm in the process of applying for CB, so banyaklah forms yg perlu diisi & dilengkapkan. Deadline - isnin, 21/3 sebelum 9 pagi. Sempat ke nak isi tu, banyak tu. InsyaAllah... sempat rasanya....

(p/s: betapa kecil ujian demam ini jika dibandingkan dengan ujian gempa dan tsunami... Ya Allah, Ya Rahman Ya Rahim... Engkaulah yang maha pemurah dan penyayang)

lotsa things happened

still in Week 1 of 2011, so it's still not late to wish everyone Happy New Year, rite? this year, i spent the new year eve cozily wrapped in blanket and head covered with pillow, after swallowing 2 panadols. Yes. headache. a really throbbing pain. luckily i was in my BIL & SIL's house in KL, so I have a nephew & nieces who helped babysitting all my children. until at 12 midnite I was awaken by the firecrackers explosive sound that forced me to get out of the bed, as Nina excitedly called me to witness the sparkles. our plan was to go out somewhere, like dataran merdeka, and my niece suggested a less crowded place in the amcorp mall, to celebrate new year. but since i was down with headache, the plan was cancelled. but everybody was happy. staying home wasnt bad at all. i imagine going out with crowds around would make my headache worse!

before that, on thursday, 30th december, we went to Aquaria, again! this time i took along my BIL's 3 loyal children. they were big enough to help handling my small kids. ;) So, the trip was fun, exciting, and better than the previous one. this time around, there's an octopus. the seahorses are distinctive. previously they were still small & transparent. i feel that the number of sharks is more, and stingrays too. Adlina was excited as always. Fathinah, still did not enjoy watching 'big fish', but she's ok with the 'small' ones. Akmal fell asleep on our way to the tunnel. The 3 big kids, are supportive . along the way...

on the day that Malaysians got their public holiday because of football, we planned to visit the bird parks & also jln TAR. But those 2 were cancelled. my hubby was exhausted and had leg pain. the kids asked why they just stayed home that day. But, at nite, we went to mid valley the gardens. I purposely asked my BIL to take us there. yes, BORDERS. Hani, my friend, told me that. when I reached Borders, the aroma (books + starbucks coffee at the back) really reminds me of Borders at Bristol. the place where I used to pop in everyday, especially during lunch break when I worked at the Co-Op, Queens St. And also late evening, especially after my husband returned from his lab, we used to have coffee at starbucks. we were regulars there, that in 2005 we were given tokens for free drinks & cakes by the starbucks' manager, Richard, i guess his name is. So, here in Borders, i bought 6 books for my daughters, and 2 magz for myself. and my SIL bought some books for her children as well.

(ok, got to stop here. will continue later, now it's time for faculty meeting...)